Investigating errors in medical imaging: medical malpractice cases in Finland

Commentary: Medical errors, sentinel events, and malpractice.

Medical errors do not necessarily represent negligence. Even when a mental health professional deviates from the standard of care, minor injury to a patient is unlikely to result in a lawsuit. The standard of care is not the same as the quality of care. Quality of care refers to the total care a patient receives, the patient's health care decisions, and the available mental health services. As ...

Medical Malpractice Crisis Medical Malpractice Crisis

Claims, errors, and compensation payments in medical malpractice litigation.

BACKGROUND In the current debate over tort reform, critics of the medical malpractice system charge that frivolous litigation--claims that lack evidence of injury, substandard care, or both--is common and costly. METHODS Trained physicians reviewed a random sample of 1452 closed malpractice claims from five liability insurers to determine whether a medical injury had occurred and, if so, whet...

Topics in medical economics: medical malpractice.

Medical Malpractice in Crisis

In medical malpractice, perhaps more than in any other field of civil personal injury compensation, the blunt instrument of tort law is as well suited to the social needs of contemporary Canadian society as the feudal art of trial by combat was in settling civil disputes in earlier times. Plaintiffs have long complained that lawyers are reluctant to take on these cases because malpractice insur...